Ballaghaderreen (
) is a town in
County Roscommon
County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...
, Ireland. It was part of
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
prior to 1898. It is in the north-west of the county, near the borders with counties Mayo and Sligo, just off the
N5 road. The population was 2,387 in the
2022 census.
[
]
History
As of 1837, the town was recorded as having 1147 inhabitants in about 200 houses and as "rising in importance" as a post-town, being on the (then) new mail coach road from Ballina to Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...
.
As of the mid-19th century, markets were held on Fridays, with seven fairs held throughout the year. A court-house, market house and an infantry barracks to accommodate 94 persons had all been established by that time.
In 1860, Ballaghaderreen Cathedral was dedicated as the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Achonry.
In March 2017, Ballaghaderreen became an Emergency Reception and Orientation Centre (EROC) for hundreds of refugees from the Syrian Civil War. In April 2018, the community was honoured with a People of the Year Award for welcoming the refugees into the community.
Governance
Ballaghadereen is part of the Barony of Costello and in the parish of Kilcoleman.
Ballaghaderreen has been part of County Roscommon
County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...
since 1898 when the town and parish of Ballaghaderreen and Edmondstown were transferred from County Mayo
County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
under the Local Government Act 1898. (This has led to some anomalies; for example, the local Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
team is affiliated with the Mayo GAA
The Mayo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Mayo GAA is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Mayo and the Mayo county teams.
The M ...
county board.)
Sports
The local Gaelic football
Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
club is Ballaghaderreen GAA. It is affiliated with the Mayo GAA
The Mayo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Mayo GAA is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Mayo and the Mayo county teams.
The M ...
county board.
Ballaghaderreen FC, the local association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
(soccer) club, was founded in 1967.
Transport
Ballaghaderreen was previously located on the N5 national primary road
A national primary road () is a road classification in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of road has the pr ...
linking Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...
to Westport. However, the town was bypassed in September 2014 with the re-routing of the N5 to the north of the town.
The nearest railway stations are in Castlerea
Castlerea ( ; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 2,348 at the 2022 census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled castle' (''Caisl ...
(21 km) and Boyle (26 km). Ballaghaderreen was previously served by the Ballaghaderreen branch line from Kilfree Junction, with Ballaghaderreen railway station having opened on 2 November 1874 and closed permanently on 4 February 1963. The station house remains standing, in a state of severe dereliction, just off Station Road.
Ballaghaderreen is on the main Dublin-Ballina bus route and there are several buses daily serving this route. Ireland West Airport is 15 km to the west.
People
* Anne Deane, nationalist, businesswoman and philanthropist
* John Blake Dillon, writer, politician, and founding member of the Young Ireland movement
* James Dillon, politician, leader of the opposition and leader of Fine Gael
* Dermot Flanagan, Gaelic footballer
* Thomas Flynn, Bishop of Achonry
* Pearce Hanley, Australian Rules
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
footballer
* Garry Hynes, first female Tony Award winner for direction of a play
* Matt Molloy, Irish flute player
* Andy Moran, Gaelic footballer
* Patsy McGarry Irish Times journalist
* Máire McDonnell-Garvey, traditional Irish musician
* John O'Gorman, piper
* Brian O'Doherty, writer, artist, art critic and academic[Ciarán Benson (2011)]
No sad imperialist of the aesthetic self
''The Dublin Review of Books'' 17 (Spring 2011). Archived 3 June 2014.
* William Partridge, trade unionist and revolutionary socialist
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
Ballaghaderreen.com
{{County Roscommon
Towns and villages in County Roscommon